House Natural Resources panel to examine drilling in Louisiana next week

The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a field hearing in Louisiana on the Gulf Coast oil spill recovery and new technologies to contain well blowouts just two days before the one-year anniversary of last year's massive spill.

The hearing, on Monday, includes testimony from Garret Graves, the chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority at the office of the governor, and Marty Massey, the CEO of the Marine Well Containment Co., a coalition of oil companies that have developed a process for reining in runaway wells.

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), the chairman of the committee, and other Republicans have called for an expansion of domestic oil and gas drilling and faster permitting of projects in the Gulf.

While Obama administration officials have said they are working dilligently to approve permits in the Gulf, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has blasted legislation introduced by Hastings earlier this month that would dramatically expand drilling. Salazar said Hastings's bills, which passed his committee earlier this week, reflect “amnesia” on behalf of Republicans about last year's spill.

“This field hearing is an opportunity for Congress to listen to the people, communities and businesses in the Gulf of Mexico that were directly impacted by the tragic rig explosion, oil spill and the administration’s de facto moratorium,” Hastings said in a statement. “We’ll examine ongoing obstacles to getting people back to work, environmental impacts and new technology to ensure that U.S. offshore drilling moves forward safely and responsibly.”